Beyond Time (closed)

[heartofcourage]

Ballas happily rumbled under her arm and Dylan let him purr in his content way. He had gone through just as much stress as everyone else. Absently, she stroked his white fur, glancing up at the woman who was standing in the door to the bedroom. She knew it was Ashien's sister at a glance. They siblings looked so much alike that it wasn't hard to figure out who she was.

"Hello." Dylan said as the woman greeted her and she gave Ballas a slight nudge to stand up. "You must Selena. I'm Dylandra. Ashien hasn't introduced me to everyone just yet."

 

[KieranSoares]

Selena seemed mildly surprised at that. Dylandra wasn't what she'd been expecting, but there was a calm sort of welcome in her gaze and her softened tone. "Well, I don't blame him. At least, not right now I don't." She stepped forward to scratch Ballas' ears. Even if the other Ghis hadn't had a close relationship with Ballas, they loved him anyway. Selena had long since gone from home when Durban had brought Ballas, so she knew him even less so than Brogan or Boar. Still, there was a comfort there that strangers didn't have with such a huge beast.

"I was going to get his dinner and he just wandered away," Selena murmured. "Apparently he's always a pain like this."

 

[heartofcourage]

"He only waits for Van. I think he has some pity for Van because he's blind. Little does he know, Van could find him easier than any of us." Dylan said, her hand resting on Ballas's large head. "And I think he feels guilty since he's left me all by myself today."

 

[KieranSoares]

"You should come join us, then. Durban and Boar have gone off to see Brogan and Kay, so Marri and Emma and I have all the children with Ma. Ruben and Gabriel were talking about you earlier."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I suppose I could come join you." Dylan said as she patted Ballas's head and motioned for him to follow. "It's better than staying by myself."

 

[KieranSoares]

Selena led Dylandra away to Kitty's parlor where the children and their mothers were settled. Ruben was absorbed in learning new knitting tricks from his grandmother and had lent his chessboard to Gabriel, who was teaching the younger cousins and his sister to play.

Elise was the first to stand up and come hug Ballas, who promptly flopped on his side and hugged her close with his huge paws. And Marri didn't mind at all, knowing from Durban and experience that Ballas was just about the safest beast for a child to play with.

 

[heartofcourage]

It was a homey little scene as Dylandra stepped into the room, all of the children occupied by some activity. As soon as Ballas appeared, the children one by one made their way to him. He hugged Elise tightly with his large paws, the other children petting his soft white fur and large tiger ears.

"He most definitely enjoys all of the attention." She said with a laugh as she watched him with the children, as calm and content as a tiger could be.

 

[KieranSoares]

Dylandra was welcomed to sit between Kitty and Marri, and despite how tired and worried they all looked- even the older children- there was still a clearly tightknit family here and Dylandra had been added in without a second thought. The more shy children were slow to warm up, but Gabriel and Ruben who already knew her happily called her their aunt as if she had been there all their lives.

At one point, Julia joined them only briefly while Valentina was seeing to Brogan, but only to quietly update Kitty on her most damaged son's condition. Julia was incredibly tired, clearly struggling to hold things together without her partner's support, and definitely pregnant too. But thankfully, Kitty as a grand duchess and former queen had resumed her royal mantle to take pressure off the two. And between Kitty and those who carried out her decisions, Inverness was healing as the population returned.

 

[heartofcourage]

Dylandra watched quietly as her fragile sister in law spoke with Kitty in soft tones. The sheen of tears in her eyes spoke so much to the frustration at not being able to help the person that they loved the most. Julia was trying to hold it together, but as Kitty hugged her, Julia melted into tears. Dylan's heart went out to her immediately.

 

[KieranSoares]

As Julia finally cracked, Kitty sat her down and held her tight, and Dylandra saw the family focus in on the one among them who was weakest. It felt almost as if they'd raised a shield despite how Kitty had already done that by closing the keep off from the public temporarily.

Eventually Kitty took Julia away to rest, assuring her that Valentina and Vincenzo would see Brogan returned to them before too long. That was when Ashien, Kreston, Boar, and Durban returned. Durban scooped Elise up and joined his wife with Gabriel between them and Seamus in her arms, while Boar did the same with his own sons. Kreston had only suffered minor wounds in the war, so he'd been carrying much of his new family and he seemed to relax as Ruben greeted him and they joined Selena. Ashien had eyes only for Dylandra after greeting Ballas quietly.

 

[heartofcourage]

Dylan smiled as Ashien appeared, looking tired but a little more like his normal self. She loved him deeply and watching him suffer had been a hard challenge. She hugged him as he came to her side, kissing his cheek gently as they settled together, the only couple in the room without a child to focus on.

"I guess Ballas is like our son." Dylan commented, looking down at the white tiger that flopped on the floor at her feet, absently playing with the hem of her skirt like a house cat might.

 

[KieranSoares]

"We can always steal one from somebody else," Ashien murmured with a smile, and that was met with a now-rare chuckle from Durban, who promptly put Elise in Ashien's lap. At only six years old, she was a little beauty who wanted nothing more in the world than to be like her parents. She often wandered around with a little hatchet on her belt to help her father cut tree limbs, but carried a basket in the other hand to gather berries and such to make pies like her mother's that everyone loved.

For now, she was glad for Ashien's attention though she looked to her father and asked, "Da? Are we ever going to get a tiger like Ballas? Or a dog like Caer?" Their old sheepdog had passed not long before their move to Inverness and Elise had been lonely without him.

"We'll 'ave a dog before a tiger, lass. But maybe one day if we ever go back t'Mongolia," Durban answered calmly while ruffling Gabriel's shaggy hair.

 

[heartofcourage]

"We'll have to show Seamus all that Mongolia has to offer." Marri said as she gave a smile towards Elise, the little girl comfortable leaning into her Uncle's chest. "Your Da worked so hard on his nursery, he'll need to know what everything means."

She knew the children missed Caer since he had passed away. Gabriel spoke often about saving money to get another dog. She and Durban had discussed it at great length. They simply hadn't had time with moving into a new home and taking care of Seamus to find one.

"Well...maybe we can take the children to find a dog." Dylandra offered, glancing towards Marri and Durban before she looked at Ashien. "It could be our treat."

 

[KieranSoares]

Durban shared a look with Marri. She knew it was fake as he murmured, "Well... I don' know. It's a lot o' responsibility an' it'll all go t'the kids."

"Please Da?" Elise asked sweetly, followed by Gabriel.

"I'll be responsible for it. I'll teach Elise everything and Seamus too," Gabriel promised. He still remembered caring for the dog himself as Durban gave him more responsibility as he grew.

"Hm..." Durban still held off, just for the sake of putting the children in suspense.

"I don't care what you say, old man. We're getting a dog. Two, actually," Ashien said resolutely before standing up and placing Elise in Dylandra's arms when she followed. "Come on Gabe. And I think Seamus can come on a little adventure since it's getting warmer outside." Ashien leaned down to take Seamus, knowing Marri and Durban would appreciate the time alone. Even if Ashien was still deeply wounded, his position as uncle was far more important than his pain and fear and he didn't show a lick of it in front of the children.

 

[heartofcourage]

Dylandra smiled as Ashien seemed back to his old self, confident in the children's eyes as he took Seamus in his arms. She held Elise against her hip, the little girl wide eyed and excited about their little adventure.

"Uncle Ash, can I look for a small puppy? Just for me?" Elise asked in a near breathless voice.

"I'm sure your Da needs hunting and herding dogs." Dylan said, knowing the excitement the little girl had. "Maybe we could sweet talk them though."

 

[KieranSoares]

As they stepped out, Ashien smoothed back Elise's dark locks. "Why don't we get a proper adult dog who can help your father, and a puppy too? That way the older one can teach the little one."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I can share it with Seamus." Elise promised, looking towards her baby brother who was asleep against Ashien's shoulder. "I promise I can share really, really well."

"I'm sure that you can, Elise." Dylan murmured with an indulgent smile. "You're probably one of the best sharers in all of Inverness. Your Ma and Da taught you well."

 

[KieranSoares]

Ashien guided their little group out toward the market. It was immediately clear to Dylandra that he wasn't terribly comfortable among the crowd and loud noises, but he hid it from the children long enough for them to find the board where things like 'help wanted' and 'for sale' signs were posted. Some were rough and almost unreadable, made by people who had never learned to read or write, while most of the business postings were a little neater with better spelling. Ashien scanned the board until he found a small paper near a corner that read simply 'Hunting Hounds, MacCoran Farm' in rough scrawling text.

"I didn't know Barclay became a farmer," Ashien muttered as he read the paper. "He ought to be around this time of day."

 

[heartofcourage]

When they reached the market, Dylan could see just how uncomfortable Ash was. It made her sad but it was all part of the process of healing. She put Elise down on the ground, letting the little girl walk as she took Seamus from him, allowing him free movement as they found the board of postings.

"I want a puppy like Caer. He was always nice to snuggle with." Elise commented as she took Ashien's hand.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'm sure we can find someone nice," Ashien told her before they continued on their way. The farm wasn't far, and they were greeted by a pasture of dairy cattle milling about. A large barn stood at one corner and opened into the pasture, and beside it was another twin barn and a small house. A man was in the pasture calling orders to a couple collies and a handsome mountain hunting dog, likely a Scandinavian variety.

Ashien called, "Barclay! Can we have a moment?"

The man turned and a smile came to his rough face. "Well, if it ain' th' long lost prince." He came up to the fence and shook Ashien's hand heartily, tipping his ragged straw hat to Dylandra as well. "Y'did us proud, lad. Got me 'ome safe t'my girls," Barclay told him in a gentler tone. "We really appreciate it."

"Well thankfully this time, I'm not here to ask you to take up arms again. We're looking for some good dogs for Durban's family. A proper hunting dog, and a pup if you have one for Elise," Ashien smiled to his niece.

"Yer in luck, little lass," Barclay smiled brightly. "A few're ready t'go. They're still real small, though. An' their Da's about four an' well-trained. He's available."

 

[heartofcourage]

"We should get a puppy for Leon and Eli too." Elise said as she was told that there were a few puppies that were ready to go.

"I'm not sure if they're ready for a dog yet, Elise. Their Ma just had a baby and your Uncle Boar has to recover a little bit more from his injuries." Dylan said softly as she tried to explain the situation to the little girl. "How about we focus on your puppy right now? When the twins are a little bit older then we can surprise them too."

"Can I pick out the one that I want?" Elise asked, looking at Barclay with wide eyes.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Sure y'can." Barclay climbed over the fence and walked them down to the twin barn and opened it up. It was mostly storage space for hay and feed, but there was an area sectioned off and better insulated that he opened up to reveal four puppies wandering around on unsteady legs with their mother watching. She was a gorgeous mountain hunter, and her pups were all similar except for the smallest who was solid black.

Another dog had followed them in, a handsome mountain hunter with a thick coat and a strong neck and chest. "This is Pike. He's their Da," Barclay said patting the stoic hound's head.

 

[heartofcourage]

Elise was giddy as soon as she saw the puppies, entering the room to sit and play with the dogs. She giggled and beamed, laughing as she was suddenly swarmed with puppies that were interested in playing and licking at her face.

"Are you sure that you're willing to give up Pike?" Dylan asked as she glanced down at the sturdy and loyal dog, watching the way that Gabriel watched him so closely. "You could surely get many more puppies from him."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'm done breedin' his type. Lot more call in Scotland fer sheepdogs. He's a good herder because I needed 'im t'be, but 'is breed's talent is tracking. Tha', an' I think 'e'd be happier somewhere else with someone that'll take 'im out hunting more often. I don' get out t'do tha' much."

 

[heartofcourage]

"What do you think, Gabe?" Dylan asked, glancing towards her nephew as he stood quietly to the side. "I think Elise will have a much harder time making her decision."